Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup

While I try to prepare most of our meals from scratch, or as close to scratch as possible, I do cheat a bit when it comes to chicken.  Each week, we purchase a rotisserie chicken when we buy our groceries. Although, I have found the perfect way to cook a whole chicken, sometimes it's just easier to pick up one that's already prepared.  Not only does the rotisserie chicken make a great "home cooked" meal when served with a big bowl of Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes and some steamed veggies, I love having the leftovers in the fridge.  Perfect to have on hand to add some protein to a leafy salad or to add to soups or pot pies.

Need more ideas for preparing chicken?  Check out this post for more than 100 chicken recipes!

Over the weekend, I made some homemade chicken stock using the bones from 2 rotisserie chickens.  One was still pretty meaty and the other was picked over really well!  When the broth was made and about 2 cups of chicken set aside, it was time for soup!  Good timing too since I was starting to feel a bit under the weather...and with the weather we've been experiencing, it's no wonder!

Since we've already had a few pots of chicken noodle soup so far this winter, I decided to try a soup loaded with veggies and some barley.

Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 cup baby carrots, chopped 
• 3 potatoes, diced 
• 2 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped
• 9 cups chicken stock (I used homemade) 
• 3 cups water 
• 2 bouillon cubes (optional) 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. 21 Season Salute 
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup peas
• 1/2 cup barley 

 Directions:  

• I started with partially cooked veggies.  Just steamed for a little while to soften them up a bit.  You could steam them in just a little bit of water or even some of your chicken broth/stock.  
• To your veggies, add the remaining ingredients.  
• Bring to boil.  Cover and reduce heat.  
• Simmer for about 30-40 minutes until barley is tender.  
• Remove bay leaf and serve.  

I've shared this recipe on the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Wake Up Wednesday
• The Homemaking Party

Hamburger Barley Soup

Being snowed in today calls for a pot of soup on the stove and a cake in the oven!  I love having a pot of soup simmering on the stove all day.  After several pots of Chicken Noodle Soup this winter, I think we're due for a nice, hearty beef soup.  Wanting to use what I have in the freezer, I decided to try making a barley soup using ground beef instead of the beef cubes I usually use.  The result seemed to be a cross between Hamburger Soup and Beef Barley Soup.  So good for this cold day.

Hamburger Barley Soup 

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 lb. ground beef 
• 2 celery ribs, diced 
• 2 potatoes, diced 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 6 cups beef broth 
• 1-2 cups water 
• 2 tsp. Italian Seasoning 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbs. Ketchup
• 2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce 
• 2 tsp. Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper 
• 3 cups frozen vegetables 
• 1/2 cup barley 

Directions: 

• In a large pot or dutch oven, cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink.  Drain grease.  
• Add the fresh vegetables, stock, water seasonings and sauces.  
• Bring to boil.  Cover and reduce heat.  
• Allow to simmer for about 1/2 hour or until the vegetables start to become tender.  
• Stir in the frozen vegetables and the barley.  
• Allow to cook for another 30 minutes - 40 minutes.  
• Remove bay leaf and serve.  

Notes:  

• I love how easy it is to throw this soup together but did consider how much quicker it would come together if I had used pre-cooked ground beef from the freezer.
• I used 3/4 lb. of ground beef to help keep the cost down on this soup, like I tend to do with a lot of recipes lately.  But this soup is so full of veggies and barley, you could really just use 1/2 lb. without noticing.

Black Beans and Rice

Beans are a staple in our house and have been ever since I was a kid.  Often served as a side dish or added to a pot of chili, we love our beans!  Back then, pinto beans and kidney beans were the norm.

Not until I started cooking myself, did I start to try other varieties of beans.  Black beans are a  favorite of mine and I add them to a lot of different recipes.

Earlier in the week, I shared a recipe for Chipotle Black Bean & Rice Soup.  I adapted that recipe to make a heartier dish.

Quick and easy to make, this deliciously frugal meal was a hit!

Black Beans and Rice
     adapted from: Chipotle Black Bean & Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 T olive oil 
• 1 large onion 
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 
• 2 tsp. cumin 
• 2 chipoltes packed in adobo, diced 
• 14.5 oz Mexican style stewed tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 tsp. adobo sauce 
• 1/2 c. Minute Rice 
• sour cream (optional) 
• guacamole (optional) 

Directions: 

• Cook onion and chipotles in a small amount of oil. 
• When onion is just about tender, stir in the cumin and garlic powder.  
• Continue to cook until onions are tender.
• Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes, water and adobo sauce. 
• Stir in one can of the beans. 
• In a bowl, mash the other can of beans with a fork, to desired consistency.  Add to soup.  
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  
• Remove from heat, stir in the uncooked Minute Rice (if using).  
• Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  
• Serve hot.  Garnish with sour cream or guacamole if desired.  

Notes:  

• This turned out a little soupy for the first night, which was just fine for us.  I didn't want to risk using less liquid since I knew it would absorb when I put the leftovers away.  
• If you want to cook your rice separately, omit the water in this recipe and possibly decrease the broth a bit.  
• While we both enjoyed this as a meatless meal, we both thought it would be wonderful with some smoked kielbasa added!  

Mmm!  So good!  This was a perfect meal after working outside in the chilly fall air!  I will be making this one again!  

Chipotle Black Bean & Corn Soup

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Over the years I've come to realize that people either love beans or hate beans.  There's no in between.  Our family lands in the love category.  When I invite people to my home for a meal, I need to remember to ask if everyone likes beans since I seem to add them to so many dishes!

Black bean soup is a favorite but it's one I don't prepare at home very often.  Until recently, that is!  We liked this recipe so much, I've made it twice already!  It's a frugal and pantry friendly recipe that is so quick and easy to prepare it's perfect for those nights you need to get something on the table quickly.

Chipotle Black Bean and Corn Soup
     adapted from Live Better America

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp. olive oil 
• 1/2 large onion, diced 
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. freshly ground cumin* 
• 2 chipotle peppers from a can (in adobo), diced 
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 tsp. adobo sauce 
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
• 2 cans of black beans, rinsed/drained 
• 1/2 cup corn (optional) 

Directions: 

• In a soup pot or dutch oven, cook onion in hot oil.  
• When the onion is starting to turn translucent, add the garlic powder, cumin and diced chipotles.
• Continue cooking for another minute or two.  Stirring frequently.  
• Stir in the tomatoes, adobo, and chicken broth.  
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  
• In a bowl, mash 1/2 of the beans with a potato masher.  
• Add all of the beans and the corn to the pot, stir and allow to cook for another 10-15 minutes or until heated through.  

Notes: 

• I made this twice so far.  Once using regular ground cumin from the jar.  The second time I made this, I was out of cumin.  Rummaging in my pantry, I found a bottle of cumin seeds.  I measured out 2 tsp. and used my mortar and pestle to roughly grind them.  I found the flavor more intense when we used the seeds that I ground myself.  
• The corn in this recipe is completely optional.  I like black bean and corn dip, so I decided to add just a little to my soup.  

I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Homemaking Party

Crock Pot Potato & Ham Chowder

The past few weeks, I've been spending time looking for some frugal dinner ideas.  Relying on some of our go-to meals has left me bored and uninspired when it comes to meal time.  During the month of December, I was in a real rut when it came to menu plans resulting in too many fend for yourself nights, frozen chicken nuggets and fries, and more take out than I'd like to admit.

January is more than half way gone and we've managed to skip the take out dinners!  Yay!  But that does mean more cooking for me, which for the most part, I do enjoy.  It's just that I need to find new recipes to prepare.  Cheap recipes.  Easy recipes.  One-pot recipes.  Recipes that will provide dinner for at least 2 nights.

This soup recipe fits the criteria that I'm looking for:
          cheap, easy, made in the crock pot, and plenty for 2 nights!

Crock Pot Potato and Ham Chowder 
          adapted from Hillbilly Housewife

Ingredients:  

• 3 russet potatoes, peeled & diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 2 celery stalks, diced 
• 1 cup ham, diced 
• 4 cups water
• 4 chicken bouillon cubes
• pepper, to taste 
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 5 Tbs. butter
• 5 Tbs. flour 
• 2 cups milk

Directions: 

• Fill crock pot insert with the potatoes, carrot, onion, celery and ham. 
• Stir in water and drop in bouillon cubes. 
• Season with pepper. 
• Cover and set crock pot on low. 
• Allow to cook for 6-8 hours (until potatoes are tender).  
• Add in the corn and green beans.  
• 45 minutes before serving, melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.  
• Add flour and gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.  
• Stir flour/butter/milk mixture into the contents in the crock pot. 
• Cover and allow to cook for another 30 minutes minutes.  

This is a great way to use up some of the leftover ham from the holidays.  When cleaning out the fridge from all the holiday food, I separated our leftover ham into 3 portions.  Although we had a spiral ham from the supermarket, the portions that I froze were from the end and not spiral cut.  Instead they were decent sized chunks that just need be diced up and added to future recipes.  

Diced ham steak, sliced Canadian bacon or cooked bacon would be a good options for this too if you don't happen to have any leftover ham in your freezer.  

Creamy Potato Chicken Chowder

I'm off to a slow start with my resolutions this year.  I'm struggling with the organizing and decluttering that I planned for this month and I don't even want to discuss how the dieting is going.

I have been focusing on one of my resolutions:  Frugality.

Last week, I shared a savings plan that I am challenging myself to stick to for the year and so far (it's only week 3) I'm doing okay with that plan.

In addition to making small deposits to our savings account, I'm trying to get the most of our meals.  I'm back to preparing whole chickens in the crock pot instead of picking up rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. Keeping homemade broth and shredded chicken on-hand for easy and frugal meals.

Earlier this month, I shared an easy soup recipe using a bunch of leftovers from the fridge.  The soup was so tasty and incredibly easy to prepare that I promised myself that I would save leftovers specifically for this meal.  I now have a bowl of assorted leftovers in the freezer for when I need something quick and easy for dinner!  All I have to do is thaw it slightly, add it to some chicken broth, season to taste and serve!  So simple!

This week, I stumbled across another easy clean-out-the-fridge type soup recipe.  I was so excited to try another easy soup recipe that I skipped the meal that was already planned for that night.

Creamy Potato Chicken Chowder
     adapted from Wheatless Foodie

Ingredients:  

• 2-3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned 
• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 2 cups corn 
• 1 cup diced chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• ground black pepper, to taste

Directions: 

• combine mashed potatoes and chicken broth in a soup pot, stirring until heated through. 
• Add the vegetables, stirring to combine.  Heat through. 
• Next, add in the diced chicken and season with black pepper, to taste.  
• Stir in the shredded cheese and heat until thick and bubbly.    

See?  So simple!  I had the mashed potatoes, homemade broth and diced chicken in the fridge.  I used frozen veggies that I thawed for this meal, which was easy enough, but LOVE that it can be made so much quicker using vegetables leftover from another night's meal!  

I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Frugal Food Thursday hosted by Frugal Follies 

Lima Bean Soup ~ A Low Calorie, Low Budget Recipe

Hello, friends!

I hope you all haven't forgotten about me even though it may seem that I've forgotten about y'all!  I just figured I'd take a week off and then, after that one little week, it seemed more and more difficult to get back into the swing of things here on the blog and at home in the kitchen!  It's seriously been really quiet here in my my kitchen, only cooking out of necessity and not for enjoyment at all.  I'm not sure the reason for such a bleak outlook on food and cooking, but as December started to come to a close, I felt myself wanting to get back into the kitchen to try some new recipes.

The snow we had recently helped a bit, too!  Nothing puts me in the mood to cook like a snow storm!  So, while the snow was coming down, I spent some time in the kitchen throwing together a frugal, no-meat soup.

A month or two ago, I picked up a few different bags of dried beans figuring they'd come in handy this winter and help with keeping the grocery bill low as we recover from the overspending that always happens during the holidays.

While Grace was occupied with her new toys, I spent a lot of time trying to decide how I wanted to prepare those bags of beans in the next few months and chose a very easy Lima Bean Soup first.  While the original recipe is super easy, I did need to make a couple small changes to avoid a trip to the market.

half portion of Lima Bean Soup

Lima Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. bag dry lima beans 
• 4 cups water
• 5 carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, diced 
• 2 celery stalks, diced 
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced 
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 vegetable bouillon cubes 
• 8 cups water
• 1 bayleaf (optional) 

Directions:

• Rinse and sort through dry beans.  
• Bring 4 cups water to a boil, add beans and boil for 2-3 minutes.  
• Cover, remove from heat and allow beans to soak for 2 hours. 
• Drain and rinse beans.  
• In a skillet, saute carrots, onion, celery and garlic in hot oil until onions are translucent.  
• Add beans to the skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring to combine the beans with the vegetables.  
• Transfer vegetable/bean mixture to a large crock pot.  
• Dissolve bouillon cubes in 4 cups of boiling water and pour over the veggies in the crock pot, stirring to combine.  
• Pour another 4 cups of water over the veggies.  
• Add bay leaf if desired.
• Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until beans and vegetables are tender.  
• Remove bay leaf and serve.  

Total Calories:  1991* 
8 servings @ 249* calories per serving.  

* calories are approximate and may not always be accurate.  

This soup is really tasty.  Not as flavorful as some of my favorite soups, but great for something a little different.  I wish I was good at keeping track of the cost of ingredients or at scoring great deals on produce, but I'm sure this soup is the cheapest dish I prepared in a long time!

I ate 2 half portions of this soup the first night I made it and froze the rest for some low calorie lunches throughout the rest of the month!


I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Hearth and Soul Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by Premeditated Leftovers

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Taco Soup is one of my favorite soups.  It's such a delicious and flavorful soup, but also it's so simple to make!  What I love the most is how easily you can switch up the ingredients based on what you have in your pantry, something I had to do this morning when I threw this soup together.

Normally, when following a recipe like this 8 Can Taco Soup, I'd sneak in some fresh vegetables.  But on this Monday morning, I appreciated the simplicity of this no chopping, just open some cans recipe!  Although, I did make a few changes based on what was in my pantry.  No running to the grocery store to prepare this meal!  I used what was on-hand!  Also, instead of cooking on the stove, I threw it all in the crock pot and let it cook while I was doing chores and running errands!

Crock Pot Taco Soup 

Ingredients: 

• 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes 
• 14.5 oz. can fat free chicken broth 
• 10 oz. can enchilada sauce (I used red) 
• can condensed cream of chicken soup 
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning 
• 15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed/drained 
• 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed/drained 
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed slightly
• 2 cups pre-cooked chicken, frozen. 
• shredded cheese, sour cream, diced chilies for topping, optional  

Directions: 

• Pour tomatoes, chicken broth, enchilada sauce and cream of chicken soup to crock pot insert and stir to combine.  
• Add in taco season, stir.  
• Mix in the beans, corn and chicken. 
• Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours.  

This soup was delicious!  I'll tell you, I was a little worried about the addition of the cream of chicken soup to this recipe.  But in the end, I liked the creamy texture it brought to the soup.  Also, I loved how quickly this soup cooked, only 2 1/2 hours in the crock pot!  Cook on low for 4-5 hours if you have more time.

Instead of the Corn Quesadillas that I originally planned to serve with this soup, we enjoyed some leftover biscuits.  I also crumbled some tortilla chips into my bowl of soup, while Joe stirred in some sour cream into his soup and topped with cheese.  Mmm!  So good!

Also, I think it's time for me to find a homemade taco seasoning recipe to replace my usual bulk jar of seasoning that I keep in the pantry, as this seemed a little bit too salty for me (even before adding in the crumbled tortilla chips).


I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Delicious Dishes hosted by Pocket Change Gourmet
• Open Call Tuesday #36 hosted by Salt Tree

Clean Out the Fridge (Chicken Noodle) Soup

I was supposed to make Chicken 'n' Dumplings this week.  But as usual, things didn't go as planned this week as far as the menu plan was concerned.  I won't get into all of the details, but when I started to get my chicken out of the fridge and gather the rest of my ingredients for the Chicken 'n' Dumplings, I saw some leftover plain spaghetti noodles and leftover corn and green beans.  Thinking about the rest of the week, I knew I wasn't going to get around to using either of those leftovers before they would need to be tossed into the garbage. Sticking them in the freezer wasn't an option either, since it's pretty full at the moment.

I figured Chicken Noodle Soup would be the easiest thing to throw together using those leftover ingredients as well as the chicken that I needed to use and since I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment, it was perfect timing!

Let me tell you, when it comes to Chicken Noodle Soup, I usually like it a certain way - veggies measured out, chicken precisely diced, wide egg noodles - I'm don't normally just throw stuff together from the fridge.  I do that with other soups, but for some reason not with Chicken Noodle.  Goodness, this was an easy dinner to throw together and tasty, too!  I love when that happens, especially when I'm sick and not really feeling like being in the kitchen very long anway!

Here's what I used for this easy, clean out the fridge soup!

Clean Out the Fridge (Chicken Noodle) Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. butter
• 2 cartons, fat free Chicken Broth 
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles, cooked 
• 2-3 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded 
• 2-3 cups cooked veggies 
• 1 small celery stalk, diced 
• 1 small carrot, diced 
• 1/4 cup onion, diced 
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced 
• oregano, salt & pepper to taste

Directions: 

• Cook onion, celery and carrots in hot butter until onions are translucent. Add a small amount of broth if needed.  
• Add garlic and cook for a minute longer.  
• Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil then add in the cooked spaghetti, chicken and oregano, salt & pepper to taste. 
• Allow soup to return to boiling.  Cover and reduce heat, simmer until heated through.  

I was really pleasantly surprised with how well this turned out.  With leftover ingredients that I almost always have in my fridge!  I'll definitely be doing this again soon in my attempt to eliminate wasting food.

Soup's On! Sunday Link Party ~ Week 3

Good morning, Friends!

I'm so sorry I am late with this week's Soup's On!  Are you all ready with your favorite soup recipes?

Again this week, I didn't get the chance to prepare a new soup recipe.  We had a fridge full of leftovers to use up and I wanted to avoid the grocery store until we had the chance to use what we had.  Early in the week, we enjoyed a nice pot of Chicken Noodle Soup that my brother sent over for my birthday.  That was super delicious!

Also in the soup category, I made a big pot of Chicken 'n' Dumplings for dinner last week.  Mmm!  So good!  Can't wait to make Turkey 'n' Dumplings next week!



*Soup's On! Sunday Link Party will begin every Sunday at 12:01am and will close on Wednesday evenings.

There are just a few simple rules, please:

• Link to your recipe post and not your home page. It just makes it easier to find your recipe!

• No Giveaways Please!

• Provide a link back to this Soup's On! Sunday post somewhere within your post.

• Leave a comment on this post after linking up. Let me know what you shared this week or simply say "hello"!

• Check out some of the other recipes shared here this week!

• Enjoy!   

Soup's On! Sunday Link Party ~ Week 2

Last week's Soup's On! was a great success!  Thanks so much to everyone that took the time to stop by for a visit and of course for sharing your great recipes!

While I made sure that I visited each one of your recipe posts, I didn't get a chance to leave a comment for all of you.  I apologize!  Between a very demanding 3 year old and a slow computer, commenting took longer than it normally should.  I will do better this week!

Shockingly, I didn't prepare soup this week.  In fact, I didn't cook much at all this week so I don't have a recipe of my own to share.  Instead, I thought I'd share a photo my aunt sent me earlier today.

Mmmm!  Doesn't that look delicious?  I wish I could eat a bowl right now!

And how about that gorgeous gingham bowl?  I am in love!

To find out more about this Chicken Vermicelli Soup, click on over to my aunt's webpage and scroll down in the comments to see just what makes up this wonderful soup!  While you're there, check out some of her other photos!  Home Crafts & The Old Ways is filled with all sorts of amazing photos of her projects and property she calls home!


*Soup's On! Sunday Link Party will begin every Sunday at 12:01am and will close on Wednesday evenings.

There are just a few simple rules, please:

• Link to your recipe post and not your home page. It just makes it easier to find your recipe!

• No Giveaways Please!

• Provide a link back to this Soup's On! Sunday post somewhere within your post.

• Leave a comment on this post after linking up. Let me know what you shared this week or simply say "hello"!

• Check out some of the other recipes shared here this week!

• Enjoy!